Corked Wine: Can It Be Rescued With Plastic Wrap?

Anjali Prasertong
Anjali Prasertong
Anjali Prasertong is a writer and public health dietitian focused on food systems, racial equity, and nutrition. Originally from Los Angeles, she has taught English in rural Japan, worked as a private chef in Malibu, and led an innovative city-funded corner store program in New Orleans that increased fresh food access in low-income neighborhoods. She was previously a contributing editor for The Kitchn, and currently lives in Denver with her husband and two kids.
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published Apr 26, 2012
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There’s nothing worse than opening up a bottle of wine and being hit with the smell of dank, wet cardboard the moment you lift the glass to your nose. It’s corked. Can anything be done? Food scientist Harold McGee shared an intriguing tip for saving corked wine using a piece of plastic wrap.

In a 2009 column for The New York Times, McGee shared this piece of advice on how to deal with corked wine from Andrew Waterhouse, a professor of wine chemistry: pour the tainted wine into a bowl with plastic wrap.

“It’s kind of messy, but very effective in just a few minutes,” he said. The culprit molecule in infected corks, 2,4,6-trichloroanisole, is chemically similar to polyethylene and sticks to the plastic.

Does this trick really transform the wine into something drinkable? The San Francisco Chronicle gave it a try and found that while the method did get rid of “obvious corkiness,” the wine wasn’t restored to its original state. I’m curious about giving the method a try the next time I end up with a corked bottle of wine.

Read more: • For a Tastier Wine, the Next Trick Involves… at The New York Times • Testing a Fix for Corked Wine at the San Francisco Chronicle

Have you ever tried this trick?

Related: Is Cork the Best Wine Stopper?

(Image: Kati Molin/Shutterstock)

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